Questionnaires

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Questionnaires (quantitative) – do the Carbon Footprint questionnaire Creating questionnaires Tutorial on lit review assignment Next week Creating a sample List potential participants

Five assumptions 1. The Ontological Assumption Reality is the hardware of a computer programme What is real and knowable depends on the software What is the nature of reality? What is real and knowable?

Assumption Question Ontological What is the nature Assumptionof reality? Quantitative Qualitative Reality is objective Reality is subjective and singular, and multiple, apart from the as seen by participants researcher in a study Qualitative vs Quantitative

2. Epistemological assumption The researcher is all powerful In order to know I must win “I want to be a Millionnaire” What is the relationship of the researcher to that researched? What we must do in order to know?

AssumptionQuestion Epistemological What is the relationship of assumption the researcher to that researched? Quantitative Qualitative Researcher is Researcher interacts independent from that with that being being researchedresearched

3. Axiological Assumption Survival values – nature red in tooth and claw Social Values – fitting in with society Transcendent values – beyond self, for the greater good Our values determine what we want to research What is the role of values? What is worth knowing and why?

AssumptionQuestion Axiological Assumption What is the role of values? Quantitative Qualitative Value-free and Value-laden and unbiased biased

4. Rhetorical Assumption Dramatic Appealing to the personal Stretching the truth Large group of believers present What is the language of research? How best to share our research with others.

AssumptionQuestion Rhetorical What is the language assumption of research? Quantitative Qualitative FormalInformal Based on set definitions Evolving decisions Impersonal voice Personal voice Use of accepted quantitative words qualitative words

5. Method- ological assumption Research is complex There is no single approach Before you use any particular method you have to understand the assumptions behind it Methodology deals with the assumptions behind specific methods of research What is the process of research? What techniques will lead to fruitful inquiries?

AssumptionQuestion MethodologicalWhat is the process of assumption research? Quantitative Qualitative Deductive processInductive process Cause and effectMutual simultaneous shaping of factors Static design, categories Emerging design, categories identified before study isolated during research Context-freeContext-bound Generalisations leading to Patterns, theories developed prediction and explanation for understanding Accurate and reliable Accurate and reliable through validity and through verification reliability

Qualitative Methods descriptive, theory building, meaning making Focus Groups Interviews Case Studies Ethnographic Inquiry Collaborative Inquiry Grounded Theory Qualitative analysis of documents, video, observation, etc What are they?

Quantitative Methods measuring, theory confirmation, defining Experiments Questionnaires and surveys Psychometric Scaling and Tests Quantitative analysis of documents, video, observation, etc Audits What are they?

Carbon footprint questionnairefootprint Do the questionnaire Tick the answers closest to your understanding of the way you live Add up your score by adding up the numbers in each box you ticked Discuss the outcome Critique the questionnaire Scores Earths required

The importance of enhancing whānaungatanga (the feeling of close connection as between kin) between students at Unitec Waitakere

Question Issues What types of questions can be asked and how? How complex will the questions be? How long will the questionnaire/ survey be?

Developing your questions - 1 Managing bias. The researchers – how easy is it to disprove your hypothesis, theory, bias? The participants – will the subject and the questions put off the participant? Opening questions. Simple Key open ended questions to get uninfluenced “off the top of my head” answers.

Developing your questions - 2 Response option lists. (forced choice)

Developing your questions - 3 Rating questions (likert scales) Did your mental health change because of the help you got from the hospital or the service(s)? 1=much better; 2=better; 3=didn’t change/not sure; 4=worse; 5=much worse What to do about don’t know/not sure/did not answer responses Rating option lists – putting in an “other” option space Question Matrices

Developing your questions - 3 The “other” option

Developing your questions - 4 “Why” questions sparingly used after key options questions Mopping up questions. Solutions, answers, ideas, “anything else you want to say” Reliability checks. Check response patterns for rigidity Vary direction of rating responses Set up correlating questions Set up some very unlikely options

Demographic questions The big three: age, gender, ethnicity/culture. Socio-economic status: Income (tax brackets/income support levels), Occupation 1=factory, unskilled; 2=clerical, fishing, farming, trades; 3=administrator, professional, technician

Demographic questions - 2 Socio-economic status (continued): Employment (full-time, part-time, student, not working, on the benefit), Education (SC, UE/bursary, tertiary cert, diploma, degree) Family: partners, dependants, responsibilities Health: disabling conditions Beliefs: religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation

Strengths of Questionnaires Good for measuring attitudes and eliciting other content from research participants Inexpensive (especially mail questionnaires and group- administered questionnaires) Can be administered to large probability samples Quick turnaround from data collection to report Can be administered to groups Perceived anonymity by respondents is high Moderately high measurement validity for well- constructed and well-tested questionnaires Low dross rate for closed-ended questionnaires Ease of data analysis for closed-ended items

May need validation and may have poor reliability Must be kept short Often has missing data, particularly to open ended questions Possible reactive effects (e.g. response sets, social desirability, dislike of questionnaires) Failure to reach certain groups – low SES, low literacy Response rates generally low for mail questionnaires Open-ended answers are vague or reflect differences in verbal ability, obscuring the issues of interest Data analysis sometimes time-consuming for open- ended items Weaknesses of Questionnaires

Sampling

Population issues Can the population be counted? What data is available Are response rates likely to be a problem? – Is the population literate? – Are there language issues? – Will the population cooperate? – What are the geographical restrictions? Generalisation. – How small is the effect size we are seeking? – What sub-groups do we want to compare? – How do we represent the people who won’t answer?

Probability sampling Based on statistics which can describe the similarity of a sample to the population that it is supposed represent. The simplest form of random sampling is called simple random sampling. In this we select participants from a given population such that each person in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

Stratified Random Sampling Involves dividing a population into homogeneous subgroups based on one factor and then taking a simple random sample in each subgroup (e.g. culture). Participants are randomly selected within each group. Subgroups might be based several factors (e.g. culture (two), gender and age (two groups)) which would give 8 (2x2x2) equal subgroups within which participants are randomly selected.

Quota Sample The entire population is first divided into homogeneous sub-groups with respect to the given characteristic such as culture. A specified number of people are recruited from each strata as you come across them rather than selecting them through random procedure. The resulting samples are called quota samples.

Purposive sampling Purposive sampling starts with a purpose in mind and the sample is thus selected to include people of interest and exclude those who do not suit the purpose. Subjects are selected on the basis of some characteristic/s. Purposive sampling is popular in qualitative research.

Examples of Purposive Sampling Extreme or Deviant Case - Learning from highly unusual manifestations of the area of interest Intensity - Information-rich cases that demonstrate the area of interest very clearly. Critical incident case, Politically Important Case Maximum Variation - Purposefully picking a wide range of variation within a group Homogeneous – Reducing variation to get a clear group or sub-group perspective Typical Case - Illustrates or highlights what is typical, normal or average. (e.g. the average student). Criterion based or Theory based selection

Examples of Purposive Sampling Random Purposeful – random selection form a pool of participants. Purposive Quota Sampling Interviewers are given quota of particular groups of people to interview and the quota are organised so that final sample is representative of population. If we want our sample to represent the age of our population and 20% are between 20 and 30, and sample is to be 20 then 4 of the sample (20%) must between 20 and 30. Complex quotas can be developed so that several characteristics (e.g. age, sex, marital status) are used simultaneously.

Waitakere City 2006 Census Data (People 16 years and over) Occupation N % of pop- ulation participants in each category rounded participants Managers12,6459%2.843 Professionals16,16711%3.644 Technicians and Trades Workers13,0359%2.933 Community and Personal Service Workers6,7985%1.532 Clerical and Administrative Workers12,5709%2.833 Sales Workers9,2587%2.082 Machinery Operators and Drivers5,6224%1.261 Labourers7,3625%1.662 Emloyed Not Elsewhere Included4,6893%1.051 Unemployed5,3494%1.201 Full-time and part-time Tertiary Students %3.153 Not in the Labour Force (house persons, retired, disability) %6.186 Status Unidentifiable7,3115%1.642 Total142,287100%3233 Purposive Quota sample

Examples of Purposive Sampling Snowball or Chain - Initially contact a few potential respondents and then ask them whether they know of anybody with the same characteristics that you are looking for in your research. Opportunistic –Following new leads during fieldwork, taking advantage of the unexpected. Convenience - The sample comprises subjects who are available in a convenient way to the researcher.